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See the iPod Nano at the right of this text - well the back of that Nano is what victory looks like. In Japan, a contest began March 21, 2008 that involves the recent Nintendo DS release Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. On April 16, 2008 15 fortunate Japanese residents can enter to win this Team Ninja pod…

Read [Gamertell]

• Apple’s Black Friday to be surprisingly bright?
• Apple wins summary judgments against Psystar
• It’s no surprise Apple considered purchasing AdMob

Apple has finally decided to release an iPhone software development kit (SDK), allowing companies to create applications for the phone. The beta version of the SDK is already in developer’s hands and the full version is expected to be released June 2008.

After Apple made the SDK’s announcement at a press conference last week (March 6, 2008), Apple’s VP for iPhone Software, Scott Forstall, demonstrated a space game (Touch Fighter) developed in only two weeks (“and only 10,000 lines of code”), promising touch controls and tilt-sensitive steering.

Perhaps an effort to help the expensive hardware more attractive to a larger audience, game companies have already been…

Read [Gamertell]

• Apple’s Black Friday to be surprisingly bright?
• Apple wins summary judgments against Psystar
• It’s no surprise Apple considered purchasing AdMob

You might recall the special event that’s been scheduled for next Tuesday at the Regent Street Apple Store in London. Acompanied by a cryptic catchphrase of “Mum is no longer the word”, the event has been largely assumed to be the unveiling of European iPhones. The store will therefore only be opened at 4pm on that day.

However, AppleInsider has learned that store employees were asked to arrive earlier, at 2pm to attend a 90 minute briefing. In addition, these employees were also told that the store was to operate until 10pm, but they had to remain till 11pm. The electronics giant also began with modifying the store’s theater area, although no further detail was provided.

Read [AppleInsider]

• Apple’s Black Friday to be surprisingly bright?
• Apple wins summary judgments against Psystar
• It’s no surprise Apple considered purchasing AdMob

You might be wondering, why would some folks not want to install iTunes? Well, putting it simply, some hate it, and besides, iTunes is not available on operating systems like Linux. So what’s a penguin-and-iPod lover got to do? Thankfully, open source apps like Senuti and libraries like gtkpod/libgpod can help bridge the gap.

Unfortunately, with the introduction of the new iPods, that’s all changed. Apparently, the iTunesDB file now consists of encrypted hashes that are used for validating your music lists; this limits a lot of these third-party apps from managing the iPod’s music. Until the community figures a way around it, I guess iTunes is your answer.

Read [iPodMinusiTunes]

• Apple’s Black Friday to be surprisingly bright?
• Apple wins summary judgments against Psystar
• It’s no surprise Apple considered purchasing AdMob

According to a report from The Guardian, it seems like O2 will now be the exclusive mobile carrier of Apple’s iPhone in the UK. Unfortunately, the carrier had to offer as much as 40% of its sales revenue to the Cupertino-based electronics giant. The margin will be confirmed tomorrow, but another competitor has already described the deal as “madly money-losing”.

It’s surprising that O2 would be paying so much, especially since the new iPod Touch comes at a competitive price with twice the storage capacity. The Guardian is also asserting that T-Mobile and Orange have won the contracts for Germany and France respectively; but the rest of the rumor-mongering sites are currently reporting conflicting information with regards to the European iPhone shipment dates.

Via [The Guardian]

• Apple’s Black Friday to be surprisingly bright?
• Apple wins summary judgments against Psystar
• It’s no surprise Apple considered purchasing AdMob